Can TV really hurt your eyes? Change these settings to reduce eye strain
Does watching too much TV cause eye strain? While sitting too close to the TV won’t likely cause you any lasting vision damage, it’s safe to say that an optimized viewing environment can make for a more enjoyable experience.
Part of making a home theater incredible is finessing every gadget and feature to your liking. Tap or click here to elevate your home theater with these five great soundbars.
But if you’re worried about health, why not do what you can to minimize eye strain, neck strain and eye fatigue? Here are a few tips on how to perfect your entertainment system.
Home theater lighting and eye strain
A mellow, dimly-lit room is the best way to watch anything on your TV. If your eyes compete with open windows, glaring track lights, and other distracting illumination sources, you may not be able to relax as thoroughly as you would otherwise.
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Our advice? Keep things simple. Draw the blinds, turn off the house lights, and stick to incandescent over LEDs if you like to dim lighting instead of going full-on black-out mode. Dark curtains are a must, especially if your home theater is on the bright side of your house when you usually chill.
If there’s errant light in your entertainment area, you’re more likely to mar the image on your screen with unwanted reflections and other forms of glare. Choose ambient light sources muffled by diffusive domes, lampshades, and other fixture additions that keep things atmospheric.
Smart lighting is fantastic, and you can use smart plugs to control traditional analog bulbs right from your smartphone without even leaving your seat. Why not make it easy?
TV viewing distance and eye strain
Experts recommend sitting somewhere far enough from the TV so that your eyes won’t be exposed to large amounts of TV glare. The secret formula: multiply the horizontal screen size by five. This distance is the ballpark you should shoot for in your home theater.
Of course, the size of the room, the shape and number of seats you have to configure, and other factors like window placement will also impose themselves on this ideal viewing distance. Some give or take is fine, so feel free to nudge your seating arrangement.
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Lighting technology has certainly changed over the years — and no, I don’t mean the evolution of incandescent bulbs to curly fluorescent options or even LED. Today, it’s all about smart lighting and it goes way beyond bulbs, switches and plugs.
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Think about the ambiance added to the outside of your home using landscaping lights or full-fledged floodlights. A nice effect, but historically there haven’t been many choices for custom options and control — until now.
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Virtual assistants give us the luxury of a personal assistant without the associated costs. Just think of a question or request and say it.
Like any connected tech, you should exercise caution and know what you’re getting into. While smart assistants such as Alexa are useful and fun to use, they are there to listen and you can’t always know who is listening or what they are doing with that information. Tap or click here for three privacy settings for your Alexa.